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January 27, 2015

Vintage Notions by Amy Barickman: Book Review and Giveaway

There is no denying that the words of a book - the information it transmits and how we walk away from our interaction with said book - matter immensely, but there is a great deal to be said in favour of visually appealing titles, too, especially when it comes to the realm of how-to books.

I was sent a copy of this book, which was released in 2010, from its publisher to review and can't begin to thank them enough for this lovely gift. I had three other books on the go when Vintage Notions arrived, but they all quickly went on the back burner because I honestly could not put this title down once I'd started reading it. Every free moment I got, I poured over another chapter and lapped up this book with immense gusto.

Author Amy Barickman created a whimsical, yet very partial, book that focuses on the wisdom, work and life of Mary Brooks Picken (pictured below), who was at the forefront of the early domestic arts and sciences front in the early twentieth century. Ms. Picken was a leading authority on many topics pertaining to homemaking, sewing, and fashion, and was the founder of the Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences in Scranton, Pennsylvania (as well as being one of the founding directors of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute).

The Woman's Institute offered very affordable at-home courses that readers from across America, Canada and further afield could avail of to better their own sewing skills, and by extension, their lives (be it sewing their own wardrobes, making clothing for their kids, working as a paid seamstress, etc). The Institute also published magazines and pamphlets on a wide variety of subjects pertaining to the domestic arts and it is amongst all of these sources that Amy gathered the information that makes up the bulk of her beautiful book.

In it, one finds instructions, patterns, and advice on topics pertaining to sewing, crochet, cooking, housekeeping, parties, the holidays, and timeless wisdom to help us navigate the waters of life that first appeared in this extensive Woman's Institute literature during the 1920s and early 1930s. Accompanying the text is a plethora of original vintage illustrations, as well as a gorgeous overall design to the book that includes things like page borders that are images of charming vintage fabrics.

No matter if one is a sewer or not, this book is worth its weight in gold for the history it contains and important page space that it devotes to an institution that was once at the forefront of domestic like in America. Divided into twelve chapters, one to correspond with each month of the year, Vintage Notions also includes a heartwarmingly lovely prefix at the beginning of each chapter from Amy that covers some of her own thoughts on that month and the subjects covered within it by the Institute.

The Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences operated from 1914 until 1938, and though a focus on domestic arts remained a key point for many ladies in the ensuing two decades, by the 1960s, as the sands of society were shifting on many, many fronts, the age old arts of homemaking, sewing, knitting and similar crafts were no longer at the forefront of many women's lives in the ways that they had once been. As a result, the wisdom that the Woman's Institution had gathered, created, and shared largely fell out of the public eye, yet even in the 21st century much of it reminds poignant and practical - and for those of us who sew and sport vintage fashions, extremely handy on that front as well.

Amy Barickman has done a hat doffingly commendable job of gleaning some of the most enjoyable and practical information (and patterns) that the Woman's Institute offered its students and brought it to life in today's world with the help of her own notes and a book that is so beautifully designed, you'll not only want to keep your copy out on display, but to give this book to all of the sewing, history, vintage fashion and cooking fans in your life.

In addition to sending a copy my way, the publisher also very generously offered to give away one copy of Vintage Notions to a lucky North American Chronically Vintage reader.

If you'd like to try your hand at winning a copy of this awesome book, please feel free to do as many of the following seven things as you'd like, ensuring that you please leave a separate comment for each method that you enter with.

1. Leave a comment on this post letting me know what your favourite type of domestic art is and at least one of the ways in which it has impacted your life.

2. Blog about this giveaway on your own site, linking back to this post.

Giveaway details
This giveaway is for one copy of the book Vintage Notions by Amy Barickman. It is open to readers from Canada and America, at the request of the publisher (apologies to my wonderful international readers), and will run from today (January 27th) until February 3, 2015.

Once the giveaway has closed, I will select a winner using a random number generator and announce that person's name on Facebook and/or Twitter shortly thereafter. If doing so is possible, I will also try to contact the winner directly by email or Facebook private message to let them know that they won and to obtain their address, which I'll pass along to the publisher who will send your prize to you directly.

♥ ♥ ♥

I genuinely adore Vintage Notions and would have happily reviewed and penned every last word that I said in today's post regardless of if I received it as a review gift or not. It is en elegant, sweet, wholesome, timeless tome and homage to the domestic arts that deserves a place in homes and lives of those with a passion for any branch of this field and/or history in general - plus, those who sport 1920s and/or 30s fashions are bound to especially love that the patterns in it hail from those decades.

Thank you, Amy, for writing this book and introducing Mary Brooks Picken’s wisdom, advice, and knowledge to a new generation for whom - as I'm certain Mary herself would have known – it remains as pertinent today as it was more than eighty years ago when it was first presented to the world.

This looks like a lovely book!It's very hard to pick, but if I had to, probably cooking. As far as impact, I'm the primary dinner maker, so I've had to try new things and branch out in said cooking skills, since not everybody wants pasta every single night :)Thanks very much for the giveaway!

I have to say sewing is probably the most game-changer of all of my "housewifely accomplishments" as I teach sewing and music. So, sewing brings money! I have defintely looked into t his book and hope to win!

-- Tegan (I'm logged in as someone else on this comp)dea@ilikeswords.net

Of all of the domestic arts, learning to sew has impacted my life the most. While learning, I made my own clothes and home dec items for my room. Later when I had children, I made them clothes, Halloween costumes, and lots of home dec items for my own home. When I am stressed, I find that sewing soothes my tattered nerves.

Not wishing to enter anything but wanting to leave a comment. Jessica, I just liked your page on Facebook for no other reason than the fact that I like you and what you share here on your blog. :) And I saw the video and found it great. I wish everyone all the best, and good luck! :)

I just signed up for Amy's blog. I have wanted this book for quite a while so maybe...Sewing is probably my greatest love when it comes to the domestic arts and was something I started doing at my mother's feet when I was four years old. Good luck everyone!

I just started following you on Instagram to earn another chance to win Amy's book. My Instagram often has little mends and other sewing skills that allow me to wear and post my mostly thrifted vintage fashions so I guess sewing is the domestic art that impacts me the most.

I think that I successfully liked your Facebook Page with my Thoroughly Modern Vintage Facebook page. Facebook still seems difficult for me to navigate. My page is a way for me to thin out my collection and make room for new to me treasures. I hope to add some hand-sewn vintage inspired items using upcycled fabrices soon. I hope this counts for another entry for Amy's book. Sewing may have inspired my collecting fever: what sewer does not love collecting beautiful fabric. It is like collecting possibilities! So sewing has yet again been my most influential domestic art.

I would have to say that embroidery is my favorite domestic art. It relaxes me, and the thought that I'm doing something that thousands of women have done before me for hundreds of years touches me. It's so wonderful to think that I'm carrying on their tradition!

It seems weird that I would like to enter this being a brand new follower and all, hehe-- I popped over from The Curious Professor Z as per her high recommendations to your writings... I am definitely a fan now.

As for the actual contest entry question...It is without a doubt sewing. All one needs to do to see the impact it has on my life is basically just look at what I am, what I write about, and what I do lol. Doing anything by hand preserves the spirit of creativity, and when creativity is allowed to flow wonderful things happen.

I never heard of this book surprisingly enough, and I am a huge fan of Mary Pickens... I have nearly the entire collection of Domestic Arts & Sciences text books (sans 1), various random publications for Singer and so on. She is my idol, and this book looks like an incredible homage to her and her life's work. It's definitely on my wishlist now! Thank you.

It looks like a really lovely book, and since I'm from Denmark I cannot win it, but I'm glad you let me know about it, so I can find it on British Amazon. It looks both practical and very charming. I also watched her video, which only made me want it more. Good luck to all the US and Canada based women. :)

I'm Jessica, a lifelong lover of all things antique and vintage, especially those from the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

This blog is my visual scrapbook in which I record and share my thoughts on the multitude of sources, people and products that inspire and feed a modern gal's addiction to the past. I also post about the vintage clothes, hairstyles and make-up looks that I adore wearing.

Stay a spell and have a blast as we explore the incomparably fantastic world of vintage history and fashion together.

All images used on this site are credited to their original posters/creators/sources,
however if at any time you would prefer not to see one of your images here, please email me and I'll take it down right away.

PS...I just wanted to say thank you very much for visiting and to tell you that you're equal parts awesome and beautiful.